NEW TEENAGER CLASS CREATED BY NHRA ALLOWS 13-YEAR OLDS TO DRIVE STREET CARS

NHRA YOUTH RACING WILL FOCUS ON RACING KNOWLEDGE AND CAR SAFETY

GLENDORA, Calif. (March 19, 2014) – Pop culture observers who think young people’s interest in cars is somehow waning seem to have difficulty explaining a growing interest in motorsports among America’s youth. In fact, to help meet the demand for teenagers wanting to drive fast, the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) today announced a new racing program for 13-16-year-olds that combines racing and car safety.

NHRA Youth Racing will give teenage boys and girls the opportunity to race against their peers in full-bodied street vehicles with an adult co-driver as their teammate.

Competitors will go through an orientation/licensing procedure on an eighth-mile dragstrip in their vehicles, which must meet program requirements. Approved vehicles must be registered, insured, street-legal vehicles with mufflers and street tires and limited to 10 seconds and slower.

“This is an inexpensive program but, best of all, it’s a way for families to use drag racing as a learning tool and a conduit for family bonding,” said Josh Peterson, NHRA vice president of racing administration.

All of NHRA’s member tracks are eligible to conduct NHRA Youth Racing activities at their tracks. Those interested in competing should contact a member track by using the Member Track Locator atwww.nhra.com. Program rules can be found at www.nhraracer.com.

Headquartered in Glendora, Calif., NHRA is the primary sanctioning body for the sport of drag racing in the United States. NHRA presents 24 national events featuring the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series, NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series and NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series. NHRA provides competition opportunities for drivers of all levels in the NHRA Summit Racing Series and the NHRA Drags: Street Legal Style presented by AAA. NHRA also offers the Summit Racing Jr. Drag Racing League for youth ages 8 to 17. In addition, NHRA owns and operates five racing facilities: Atlanta Dragway in Georgia; Auto-Plus Raceway at Gainesville in Florida; National Trail Raceway in Ohio; Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis; and Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in Southern California. For more information, log on to NHRA.com, or visit the official NHRA pages on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.